Hi RBW. Seems as though it's still effectively early days for this camera in UK ( I had to wait 3 weeks for delivery of mine) and accessories are similarly in short supply. I assume you checked the Panasonic site which advises there's a month's wait for the battery, a mere snip at £57.59

In an earlier thread here a US-based user reckoned s/he would wait for an APM version of the battery 'cos of the price. Crikey, I hope your requirement isn't urgent.

Norm

That was me

I found an AM battery, but it's in Hong Kong and they want a 20 unit minimum order. I had asked around (on here and other boards) if anyone was interested in going in with me, but I didn't get a very good response.

Are you still waiting to get a spare battery? Would you say not having a spare seriously undermines the camera's usefulness for a serious (or at least semi-serious) day's shooting?

I see there's a thread lower down where someone asked if it's OK to charge up still partly charged batteries. Wonder if it's safe to assume that the lack of a response means there's nothing to worry about?

Don't know if you checked the thread I mentioned earlier in "Bird Forum". Having publicly praised the camera and suggested it would be suitable for nature photography, I'm starting to feel anxious to know whether supply problems for Panasonic will be resolved.

Yes I'm happy with the battery I received from eurobatteries.com so far. The speed with which they fulfilled my order compared to some companies I have dealt with on the internet was first class.
The label on the side of the battery has no makers name only that its for the Panasonic and Model number DMW-BM7 and 7.2 v/Li-ion 680Ah.